EDCO ANNOUNCE THE TOP TWENTY GROWTH STAGE COMPANIES TO ADVANCE AS PART OF THE 2017 BEND VENTURE CONFERENCE

BEND, Ore. – August 31, 2017 –Economic Development for Central Oregon (EDCO) announced the Top Twenty companies to advance to the next round of the Growth Stage Competition for the 14th Annual Bend Venture Conference (BVC) to be held Thursday, October 19- Friday, October 20. This group of companies is one step closer to presenting on the historic Tower Theatre stage in Downtown Bend. Last year, companies in the Growth Stage category won prizes ranging from $15,000 to $1,750,000.

“As a group, the quality of this year’s applicants was extremely strong,” said Brian Vierra, EDCO’s Venture Catalyst. “We have representation from across the country: from Bend to Bozeman, California all the way East to Michigan. And companies span a variety of industries: cleantech, software, travel, UAS and much more. This strength of this group might make for one of the most competitive processes we’ve had in a while. In these coming weeks, we’ll have a tight race.”

The twenty Growth Stage semi-finalists were selected Wednesday evening after review by a panel of ten different funds and individual investor experts. These companies will advance to the next round of cuts, which will be announced next week.

In alphabetical order, the 20 Growth Stage semi-finalists that will compete to make it through the next round of cuts are:

Hosted byEconomic Development for Central Oregon (EDCO), this year’s BVC will once again feature three competition categories: Growth Stage, Early Stage and Social Impact. Last year, nearly $4 million in funding was awarded to ten companies, with investments ranging from $15,000 to $2.5 million. The semi-finalists for all three categories will be announced in the weeks leading up to Bend Venture Conference, October 19-20, 2017.

Ticket SalesTickets to the 14th Annual Bend Venture Conference are on sale now and are available here.

About Bend Venture Conference (BVC)BVC, hosted by EDCO, is one of the largest angel conferences in the country. More than 600 attendees, six funds, 32 prominent investors, and 89 companies participated in 2016’s conference, where nearly $4 million was invested in 10 companies.

About Economic Development for Central Oregon (EDCO)EDCO is a non-profit corporation supported by private and public members and stakeholders, whose mission is to create middle-class jobs in Central Oregon by: recruiting new employers to move to the region; helping entrepreneurs start new, scalable businesses; and working with businesses that are already here to grow their operations. For more information, visit www.edcoinfo.com.